Shas says Western Wall ‘doesn’t need any law,’ after proposing bill to regulate prayer there

Shas says it agreed to pull a bill that would severely curb non-Orthodox prayer at the Western Wall, after being assured by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he’ll seek to push off a High Court hearing on petitions for the state to either formally recognize the egalitarian section or allow mixed-gender prayer at the main plaza.

“We welcome the prime minister’s announcement that the status quo will be maintained, as it has been till now,” the Haredi coalition party says in a statement.

“The Western Wall doesn’t need any law. Most of the Jewish nation respects the holiness of the place, except for the provocateur women who don’t cease turning it into an arena of political combat, all under the cover of the High Court,” the statement goes on to claim, referring to the Women of the Wall.

Shas insists its proposal was aimed at “preserving the existing situation.” It also denounces criticism of the bill as “cheap populism.”